Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzles
Shame you couldn't just spay and neuter the cats and dogs. There were veterinary surgeons around then - maybe a bit more basic but they knew how to cut the nuts off other animals so why not treat these animals with the respect they are due. They were probably working dogs and cats on the farm and should have been cared for with due diligence and compassion.
I find it a shame that people put such different values on the lives (and the quality of those lives) of so many different species.
|
Perhaps I wasn't clear. The elastrator was used on very young bull
calves, not dogs or cats. This is on a small dairy farm.
Generally we only ever had one dog at a time. Usually a female, as they are less aggressive, but still good guard dogs and pets. On a rare occasion they would get pregnant. IE: from a neighbouring (miles away) dog or a stray.
As I said, no pups were ever destroyed.
We did have more than one cat, but usually only one female.
On farms most of the day-to-day healthcare of animals is done by the owners. Vets are called for emergency situations. Especially when the nearest vet might be 30 or more miles away and they service a very wide area. It's not like here in the city where there are vets every 10 or 15 blocks. Some towns don't even have a local vet.
Castration of bull calves is a pretty basic task, a vet would likely laugh at a farmer who called them in for this task. IMO using the rubber bands (via the elastrator) is far more humane than the slashing castration method used on older calves on ranches.